The story is about the lives of a Pakistani-American family grappling with their own internal trials and tribulations, the changing dynamics of American society and a globalized, post-9/11 world.

[7] Ali, who is an attorney and writer in the Bay Area, began writing the play in 2001 while studying at the University of California, Berkeley.

[3] Ali explained his choice of the play's ironic title in the February 2011 issue of American Theatre, saying it refers to "hundreds of years of alleged inherent acrimony between the West and Islam....I wanted to reframe that within this multi-hyphenated Muslim-American family.

Its NYC debut, on September 11, 2009, at the Nuyorican Poets Café was followed by a sold-out five-week run, which broke attendance records for plays[10] at this landmark Off-Broadway theater.

[11] In his Nuyorican program notes, Ali explained the choice of this date for the play's New York opening:[11] "I believe by proactively confronting the history of that day through art and dialogue we can finally move beyond the anger, the violence, the extremism, the separatism, the pain and the regret, and build a bridge of understanding and reconciliation.